SDSU, USD aim for soccer tournament berths

The San Diego State men's soccer team could make the NCAA Tournament this year.

The SDSU women could make the tournament.

The USD men could make the tournament.

The USD women could make the tournament.

San Diego's four NCAA Division I teams have never all reached the postseason — three did in 1999 — and it comes in a year when most prognosticators figured only the USD women would.

If the season ended today, it would be hard for the NCAA selection committee to overlook any of them.

And here's the craziest part: Knowing the NCAA's penchant for regionalizing the early rounds of the tournament and minimizing travel costs, there's a decent chance the Aztecs and Toreros could play each other.

If the women meet, it likely would be Nov. 13 at a first-round regional hosted by UCLA. The men's tournament, which has 48 teams, begins Nov. 19 and Nov. 22 with single games at campus sites.

The reason for the optimism is three letters: RPI.

The Ratings Percentage Index is a complicated formula used by the NCAA based on strength of schedule. And in soccer, where members of the selection committee can't flick on the TV and evaluate teams across the country like they can in basketball, RPI is king.

“It's the most significant variable involved (in determining at-large berths),” SDSU men's coach Lev Kirshner said. “It's the power of your schedule and wins that create the rating, and the rating is supposed to be the most objective way to determine your quality.”

Kirshner's Aztecs are 6-4-4, but they are 4-2-1 against nationally ranked teams and, following a road sweep of Stanford and Cal last week, jumped to No. 11 in the most current RPI. Anything in the top 30 is usually enough to receive an at-large berth.

The USD men are in even better shape. They are 10-4 overall and leading the West Coast Conference at 6-1, and their RPI is a staggering No. 5. A top-10 RPI generally gets you a first-round bye as well as a home game in the second round.

The women's tournament has 64 teams, and in recent years an RPI in the top 45 is sufficient for an at-large berth. The NCAA won't issue an official RPI for Division I women until next week, but an unofficial RPI has SDSU at No. 37 and USD at No. 43 — and both have winnable games on the horizon.

The Aztecs women are 11-3-5 and riding a 12-game unbeaten streak entering their regular-season finale at Texas Christian on Friday. The Mountain West Conference tournament, which determines its automatic NCAA berth, is the following week in Provo, Utah.

The USD women (10-5-2) should get to 12 wins before closing the regular season at NCAA title contender Portland. They also likely will finish in the top two or three of what is rated as the nation's fifth-strongest conference.

“It'd be great for the city to get all four in,” said USD coach Ada Greenwood, who sits on the Div. I women's selection committee. “It's always been a strong soccer town, and hopefully we can all do something in the playoffs once we get in.

“That's where the big statement will really come.”

Random thoughts

•Major League Soccer couldn't have asked for better playoff pairings, with the Los Angeles Galaxy drawing Chivas USA. That means both games of the two-leg series will be at The Home Depot Center in Carson. The Chivas “home” game is at 2 p.m. Sunday; the Galaxy “home” game is at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 8.

•MLS' announced attendance — which historically has been a bit on the generous side — officially was down 2.9 percent compared with 2008. Subtract expansion club Seattle and its 30,897 per game, and announced attendance among the 14 teams that played in 2008 and 2009 was off 9 percent to an average of 14,975 — the lowest since 2003.

•A new study estimates a “conservative domestic economic impact of $5 billion” if the United States hosts the 2018 or 2022 World Cups, as will the creation of “between 65,000 and 100,000” jobs. The study was funded by the USA Bid Committee.

•Add forward
Jozy Altidore
to the ever-expanding list of U.S. national team regulars who are either injured or not playing with their pro clubs. Altidore was dropped from the Hull City list of eligible bench players Saturday after reportedly arriving 40 minutes late for an English Premiership game against Portsmouth. Even worse, Altidore apologized via Twitter, which merely chapped manager
Phil Brown
more for not keeping the indiscretion in-house.

•Good and bad news for the United States and Mexico at the men's under-17 World Cup in Nigeria. The Yanks lost 2-1 to Spain on Monday despite having a 1-0 lead and man advantage four minutes into the match. Mexico rebounded from an opening 2-0 loss to Switzerland to beat Brazil 1-0 yesterday.